Briefly Noted

“In Tender Headed, Olatunde Osinaike asks the question, what makes a man, and what makes a man like me? As he interrogates the inner and outer workings of masculinity in all its sharp and tender parts, and the way a Black man meets the world, his poems strut and duck and weave across their pages. These poems unpack the ingredients of being and make a meal of language.”

“This anthology introduces you to state and city Poet Laureates from all over the United States. Each poet is sharing poems that are powerful and impactful while also sharing their biography and a connection to their city or state. Enjoy these dynamic words and celebrate Black History each time you open this book.”

“The old and new collide in Nashville. A crooked developer, Tommy Kahn, plans to demolish a historic building, the Eagles Nest, and build yet another sleek, new tower. … Jordan Mayfair finds herself immersed in it all when she comes to ‘Music City’ with Alex, her travel-writer uncle, and learns that her daughter Holly, who works for Tommy Kahn, might be in danger.”

“In a career spanning five decades, Brown was nominated for five Academy Awards and directed ten different actors in Oscar-nominated performances. Despite his achievements and influence, however, Brown has been largely overlooked by film scholars. Clarence Brown: Hollywood’s Forgotten Master explores the forces that shaped a complex man—part–dreamer, part–pragmatist—who left an indelible mark on cinema.”

“Maggie Franklin plays by the rules but lives in a world of people driven by competing motivations, leading to conflict and betrayal, touching those closest to her. She works at a high-end PR firm in Nashville, Tennessee, owned by Richard Gadly, who occupies the gray space between legal and illegal in the intersecting spheres of business and politics. The way she sees herself clashes with the reality of her work: co-workers hustling and violent; the success of her boyfriend’s career, dependent on the crooks she’s desperate to avoid; and the need to control events by the instinct to survive.”

The NFL champion whose life inspired the hit movie The Blind Side is back with an inspiring and motivating book on overcoming any obstacle, no matter how tough the odds… Oher’s life has had a lot of unexpected highs: a college degree; four beautiful, healthy children and a happy marriage; drafted in the first round; a Super Bowl victory; and a second chance to play in the “big game.” He’s also run up against quite a few walls: poverty, hunger, homelessness, struggles in school, bullying, job loss, brain injury, anxiety, and depression. What he knows now is that your wall can be your opportunity.